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YMMV / Aqua Teen Hunger Force

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YMMV entries specific to the first film belong here.

YMMV With Their Own Pages

  • Adorkable: How innocently naïve Meatwad is and his childlike personality grant him this status.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Even with the show's unrealistic absurdity, character interpretations can still be made from a cynical viewpoint:
    • Master Shake's behavior brings a lot into question. Does he bully Meatwad in an attempt to toughen him up, or just because he's a sociopathic jerk who torments others to feed his own ego? It can also be inferred that he was raised by Abusive Parents who couldn't have been bothered to raise him right (which he explicitly mentions in "Reedickyoulus"). Lastly, he may be jealous of the affection Meatwad receives in contrast to him, prompting him to take his anger out on Frylock for acting like a father figure towards the former while giving him no affectionate attention. Also, it's stated in some episodes that like the latter, Shake has no brain and thus lacks any form of intellect, making him perpetually idealistic.
    • Meatwad is implied to either have been neglected as a child or mentally deficient (or "mentally retarded" as he himself puts it). In "PDA", it's implied that Meatwad doesn't even know whether he has real parents or not.
    • Carl is revealed to have suffered a crappy childhood in that he was raised in abject poverty without a mother and by a cynical alcoholic father who forced him into child poverty at age 8. Considering the fact he lives on his own now, works at home, and very much takes after his father, it's probable that he either wants to become a manchild like Shake and Meatwad but is too embarrassed of his reputation, or he's just too cowardly to learn from his past.
  • Awesome Music:
    • Meatwad's solo in the Movie. Doubles as a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment but damn is it awesome.
    • The song "Cut You with a Linoleum Knife," also in the movie, performed by none other than Mastodon. Behold.
      "Do not crinkle your food wrappers loudly! Be considerate to others, or I will bite your torso and give you a disease!!"
    • "I Like Your Booty (But I'm Not Gay)," also from the movie.
    • "Meatwad get da money, see..."
    • Can't forget "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary" from the episode of the same name - a prog-metal "alternative" to "Happy Birthday To You," performed by Zakk Wylde and a Geddy Lee sound-alike.
    • The ending theme to Patrol Squad definitely qualifies. Listen to that badass guitar!
    • It's time for Aqua TV Show Show. Aqua TV Show Show. Aqua TV Show Show... (Coincidentally the first time the characters actually sing along with the theme).
    • Aqua Teen Hunger Force Forever, going out on a high note. The characters even sing the entirety of the song!
  • Base-Breaking Character: All members of the Aqua Teens have gotten divisive reactions since the show premiered:
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: For the sake of brevity, just know that there are... well, a lot of moments in the series that intentionally have little-to-no plot relevance. Considering the batshit insane and completely random nature of the show, however, it's very fitting.
    • One of the best examples would be in Gee Whiz, where Frylock tries to tell Meatwad about the Bible but accidentally pulls out the Necronomicon instead. This scene, though brief, is never brought up again.
    • Last Dance For Napkin Lad in its entirety is a master-class of this trope and Bizarro Episode, due to several entirely deliberate AssPulls that the series makes no effort whatsoever to mention afterwards.
    • Hands On A Hamburger contains another hilarious example of this trope right at the beginning: Shake pranking a pizza place by ordering a shitload of pizza. Predictably, this scene has zero relevance to the rest of the episode.
  • Bizarro Episode:
    • Pretty much every episode, given the nature of the series. While some episodes are tame (such as "Rabbot" or "The Dressing"), other episodes (like "Wi-Tri" and "One Hundred") are just straight up off-the-wall.
    • "Party All The Time" is an interesting inversion of this, as the episode is surprisingly slower-paced and lighter-on-the-jokes than usual, playing Frylock's cancer completely seriously and even featuring an unusually altruistic Shake (even if he's still too dumb to actually be of any help).
  • Broken Base:
  • Designated Hero: Meatwad and Frylock have fallen into this during the later seasons. "Sweet C", "Fry Legs" and especially "Bookie" comes to mind.
  • Designated Monkey: Master Shake is both a Designated Monkey and a Karma Houdini. When Shake is actively being a jerk and hurting people, he tends to get away with it. But his biggest humiliations come from his well-intentioned (for him, anyway) stupidity and/or him being an unrelated victim. This is especially demonstrated in the last season where Shake is largely Out of Focus but will still be brutally hurt before the episode ends.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • The Mooninites are easily the most fondly remembered and quoted villains.
    • The Plutonians are similarly fondly remembered, though not to the Mooninites' exent.
    • The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future for his utterly nonsensical ExpositionDumps.
    • Jiggle Billy, to the point where his face has reached Memetic Mutation status.
    • Handbanana, for being such a hilariously messed up concept.
    • Shake's Muscles, helps that John DiMaggio voiced him.
  • Fandom-Enraging Misconception: It's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", not "Aqua Team Hunger Force".
  • Faux Symbolism:
    Meatwad: I'm gonna name you Jesus... Ezekiel... Jesus. And that's from the Bible.
    • And again when everyone sees Jesus Gee whiz on the gun shop billboard. But it turned out to just be Ted Nugent.
    • "The Greatest Story Ever Told" was released on Adult Swim's website 3 days after the show's supposed cancellation, mirroring the death and resurrection of Jesus.
  • Fountain of Memes: Everything said by Dr. Weird.
    • Carl too, to a lesser extent.
    • Don't forget Shake as well.
  • Genius Bonus: At the end of "The Cloning", after gunning down a cloned George Washington made out of one dollar bills, Frylock remarks, "Man, we should've cloned twenties. Jackson wouldn't have given a shit." He really wouldn't have, since Andrew Jackson didn't believe in paper money.
  • Growing the Beard: The show was readily established as off-the-wall and goofy, though it wasn't until the Mooninites were introduced in the fourth episode that the character's personalities were fully established, and the series' oddball sense of humor really began to take off. The rest of the first season took the entire concept of ATHF to even more absurdly funny heights. By the following two seasons, the insanity of the show peaked, to the point that it reached fan favorite status.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • The 2007 Boston bomb scare became a lot more cringe-inducing when bombs actually did go off during the Boston marathon in 2013.
    • The bomb scare also caused Cartoon Network's general manager to resign and Stuart Snyder to take his place, leading to what many consider the network's Audience-Alienating Era, including the cancellation of Toonami, the creation of CN Real, and phasing out anime as well as old favorites such as Ed, Edd n Eddy and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. That's right, a single guerrilla marketing campaign for a movie nearly brought the entire Cartoon Network to its knees with the ensuing fallout.
    • Right when it was announced there were no plans to end the series, it was announced months later that its next season would be the last.
    • Any moment when the Aqua Teens' house is destroyed becomes awkward with the knowledge that Carey Means (Frylock's voice actor) had his house decimated by a fallen tree in a thunderstorm and was forced to live off of GoFundMe donations for a time because Georgia's labor laws prevent him from getting royalties or residuals.
  • He Really Can Act: Although Frylock is usually The Stoic, his reaction to accidentally killing Shake and Meatwad in "Super Birthday Snake" really shows Carey Mean's talent. It helps that this is one of the only few times in the whole series that Frylock looks and sounds genuinely horrified.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • In "Interfection", the www.yzzerdd.com's conversation with Frylock somewhat resembles the Signature Scene from The Matrix Reloaded which came out months later.
    • In "The Cloning", Master Shake says that Jesus Christ & Santa Claus are the same person, and Meatwad says he doesn't know Santa Christ. Guess who followed up on that idea years later?
    • In "Video Ouija", Shake commits suicide to become a ghost and terrorize Meatwad's new video game through possessing it. 17 years later, and Dana Snyder is a ghost.
    • In "T-Shirt of the Living Dead", Shake protests that the Egyptian exhibit is meaningless because Tom Cruise doesn't have to study any of it before he's booked for a movie. Then 2017 came along.
    • In "The Meat Zone", Meatwad makes a half-hearted prediction that the Giants are #1 after his power to see the future fails him. The Giants were awful in 2003 when the episode aired, but in 2008... They won the Super Bowl.
    • In "Bible Fruit," Mortimer (voiced by H. John Benjamin) says he's "a huge meat fan." Funnier still, not only is Mortimer's friend voiced by the same actress who'd play that character's daughter but the show in question would eventually be reran on [adult swim].
    • In "Rabbit, not Rabbot" Shake gets his brain put into a rabbit and denies it the whole episode. Which makes this episode funnier when you realize that Dana Snyder, Shake's voice actor played Dr. Colosso, a talking rabbit, in The Thundermans.
  • Ho Yay: Shake, to Frylock.
    "Why don't you help me SUCK IT? (beat)...Wait a minute, that backfired."
    • Okay, but Shake and Meatwad actually make out in "The Marines".
    • A mild one, but Ignignokt and Err having an argument over the reveal that their check is actually a bill feels a tad bit Like an Old Married Couple bickering.
    • In "Big Bro", Frylock is attracted to a woman that is essentially a female Carl.
  • Jerkass Woobie:
    • Sure, Carl's rude, obnoxious, and hygienically challenged, but the sheer amount of shit his neighbors put him through, as well as his abysmal luck, kinda makes one feel sorry for him. His jerkass tendencies also seem to stem from - in addition to the Aqua Teens' persistent harassment and invasion of his property - his abusive childhood: Even as a kid, Carl was a Butt-Monkey; he was still a poor, starving loser who resided in an unkempt home and had little more to eat than carpet squares. What's more though is that he was raised by a negligent, heartless, idiotic jerkass of an Abusive Dad for whom was basically a reflection of what Carl would grow up to be like.
    • It's debatable but Frylock could also qualify. Though he's usually portrayed as a decent guy, he can be pretty bitter but considering that he has to put up with everybody else's stupidity all the time (especially Master Shake's), it's not hard to see why.
    • Mooninites tried to invoke it in "Moonahujana", didn't work on Frylock though.
    • Master Shake is generally an unsympathetic Jerkass, but there are occasions where he falls into this. He generally tends to deserve what he gets, but episodes like "Bookie", "Muscles", and "Anubis" have him suffer horribly while not doing much to deserve it outside of being an idiot.
  • Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: It's easy to hate Master Shake due to his selfish behavior, obnoxious attitude, and sadistic bullying of Meatwad, among other reasons. Meanwhile, most of the Aqua Teens' Rogues Gallery are either hilariously ineffective or surprisingly kind.
  • Love to Hate: Master Shake. He's egocentric, selfish, and short-sighted, but damn if his antics aren't fun to watch.
  • Memetic Molester: Handbanana.
    "Tonight... YOU..."
    • Kinda inevitable, though, considering that he's a rapist In-Universe.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD! THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF MEMETIC MUTATION, ISN'T IT, STEVE?
    • WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?!
    • Two jokes rolled into one: the first is the popularity in photoshopping or drawing Carl's face and body into anime and cartoon characters, as evidenced here◊, here◊ and here. The second is the succeeding quotes Carl would theoretically say if put in that character's position, usually along the lines of Yo, Fryman!.
      Hey, Fryman. Come, friggin', save me or somethin'.
      Yo, Fryman, what does this friggin' button do?
      My power level is none of your friggin' business.
    • "I get it. It ain't making me laugh, but I get it." Explanation
    • "Truly, they were a (insert series title here)."Explanation
      • "... Your emergency break is on!"
    • ARISE CHICKUN! note 
    • YOU QUESTION THE WORDS OF THE MIGHTY JIMMY?
    • MY DAD OWNS A DEALERSHIP! note 
    • You look at him and tell me there's a God◊ note 
    • "Where you at, dog?"
    • "It don't mattah. None'a this mattahs."
    • "Call the neighbors. I want them to see this."
  • Narm Charm: Frylock's affliction from cancer in "Party All The Time" is treated with an unusual amount of gravitas, despite the same episode having Shake dying twice due to his own stupidity and nobody else caring, and yet it manages to be somewhat of a Tear Jerker.
  • Nausea Fuel: It wasn't so bad in the first season, but it got progressively worse as the show went on.
    • The rest of "The" after Frylock moves out. The unfathomably unsanitary conditions Shake and Meatwad leave their house in leads to them developing severe pinkeye that blinds them. It's such a pigsty that the smoke and odors lead to Carl getting hospitalized.
  • Older Than They Think: Shake's idea on how to remake "The Granite Family" actually has some backing to it. It's a common theory that The Flintstones actually takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, so Shake may have been using that logic. Of course, since this is Master Shake we're talking about, it's probably just Insane Troll Logic with a side of Did Not Think This Through.
  • Rewatch Bonus: All the numerous hints at Frylock being a lesbian trapped in a man's body as a box of fries become a lot more noticeable once you've seen the movie.
  • Seasonal Rot: Depending on who you ask, the show has suffered this at various points:
    • Seasons 3 and 4 (more-so the latter) are downplayed examples; the third season is considered a slight step down from the second, though it's still widely regarded as excellent. The fourth season has a few more duds in comparison to the first three seasons, and unfortunately gets rid of the beloved cold opens from previous seasons. Regardless, it's generally agreed to be the last consistently good season. The film, similarly, is often grouped in with the 4th season as the last great piece of Aqua Teen media.
    • Season 5 is regarded by a lot of fans as the point where this trope really kicks in. Common complaints include the series slowly phasing out fan favorites like the Mooninites and Dr. Weird, as well as heavy reliance on blood and gore and Vulgar Humor, and pretty much everyone becoming more dick-ish.
    • Season 8 and beyond are considered by some fans to be just as bad as seasons 5-to-7, due to not doing much to fix the problems of the latter seasons.
  • Signature Scene: "Handbanana" is perhaps the most well-known and fan-favored episode of the series due to its absolutely tasteless, morbid, and utterly hilarious storyline involving a genetically engineered dog that repeatedly rapes Carl.
  • So Bad, It's Good: The Limited Animation is so bad (at least in early seasons), that it actually manages to be one of the show's main sources of comedy.
  • Special Effects Failure: The lip-syncing in the first few episodes were pretty bad.
  • Suspiciously Similar Song: The "Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1" intro sequence sounds like Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law".
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • A forgivable example, but the bees in "Sweet C" are worker bees, and therefore, should've all been female. There go chances of seeing Carl being a Harem Seeker.
    • Another somewhat forgivable example is the Grand Finale. While good, the only characters to appear are the Aqua Teens, Carl, Carl's friend Dominic, and Meatwad's family. Who else wanted to see characters who were Put on a Bus (such as the Mooninites, the Plutonians, the Cybernetic Ghost, and Dr. Weird) come Back for the Finale? Then again, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (which turned out to be the actual series finale) has a lot of those characters (namely, the Mooninites, Plutonians, Markula, Rabbot, Handbanana, Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, Mothmonsterman, Zucotti Manicotti, and Romulux) as Shake's 'acolytes'.
  • Ugly Cute: Meatwad, especially when he acts like a little kid.
  • Unintentional Period Piece: A lot of technology and references in the show place it rather heavily in the early 2000s. Though interestingly, the technology remained the same as the show went on, rather than be updated like with most long-running series. The episode "Gee Whiz" also comes across as bizarre for viewers of a post Moral Orel and Black Jesus [adult swim], as the standards and practices have loosened since the episode was made and there is no longer a Jesus Taboo.
    • In the episode “Bible Fruit”, Meatwad asks Master Shake if he can watch Futurama, to which Shake replies with “Well, now we’re too damn cheap to get it”, a reference to Adult Swim losing the show’s broadcast rights to Comedy Central in 2008. However, in December 2021, the series RETURNED to Adult Swim, making this gag incredibly outdated.
  • Unintentionally Sympathetic:
    • Shake has become this for many fans in later seasons. He is hurt much more often, many times unjustified, and suffers as much, if not even more non-canon deaths than Carl. Fans began to sympathize with him, especially in the last season where he Took a Level in Kindness (the sole exception being in "Hospice") but is still either brutally hurt or killed in every episodenote . The episode "Bookie" can be seen as either an episode where Carl catches a break from his perpetual suffering, or a Shake-Torture Porn. Granted, Shake spent the episode making bets he couldn't win, against Carl, who has a particularily brutal creditor on his side, but even seeing a jerk like him suffer this much can become hard to watch.
    • The Bible Fruit. Apparently, being somewhat pushy in their beliefs gave Frylock cart blanche to push them Off the Wagon and blow them to smithereens.
      • Then again, all Frylock really did was offer them a mojito with out knowing they were recovering alcoholics/addicts, which was all it took to push them into a full-on relapse.
  • The Woobie: Meatwad and Frylock (most of the time).
    Jubilee: I don't wanna do the dog food thing anymore!
    • Woobie Species: The Zeeblonians, a race of friendly munchkins whose home gets ravaged until there's nothing left by a selfish, uncaring Carl.

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